GRAND RAPIDS -- Newsweek magazine, which declared Grand Rapids a dying city in January, has changed its mind, thanks to Rob Bliss and Don McLean, a song called "American Pie," a YouTube video, and a great many West Michiganders firmly declaring, "We're not quite dead."

Bliss' Grand Rapids lip dub video, which went live on YouTube on Thursday afternoon, was forwarded so many times to Newsweek's Facebook page, the magazine decided to throw in the towel.

By the time of Newsweek's post, more than 400 viewer comments had appeared on the YouTube video, more than a few mentioning the magazine.

To the Grand Rapids crowd:

First off, we LOVE your YouTube LipDub. We're big fans, and are inspired by your love of the city you call home.

But so you know what was up with the list you're responding to, we want you to know it was done by a website called mainstreet.com--not by Newsweek (it was unfortunately picked up on the Newsweek web site as part of a content sharing deal)--and it uses a methodology that our current editorial team doesn't endorse and wouldn't have employed. It certainly doesn't reflect our view of Grand Rapids.

That's not quite an apology, but it is an acknowledgement that the magazine's piece, "America's Dying Cities," which listed Grand Rapids as No. 10 on its list of Ten Dying Cities, wasn't an example of the venerable news magazine at its finest.

But Bliss, a 22-year-old event organizer who already has drawn national attention for such stunts as creating a giant waterslide downtown, set out to make a larger statement -- as well as have some fun -- with the the nine-minute video, which was premiered at four screenings Wednesday at Celebration Cinema North, and posted on YouTube on Thursday afternoon.

The project, filmed Sunday in downtown Grand Rapids, featured familiar faces from all walks of life, lip syncing to a live recording of Don McLean's "American Pie," featuring the audience singing along.

Five takes were filmed Sunday by Bliss, who has earned a following with nearly 5,000 Facebook fans. He and his team chose the fifth and final take.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's a look:

In the notes accompanying the video on YouTube, Bliss posted this statement:

This video was created as an official response to the Newsweek article calling Grand Rapids a "dying city." We disagreed strongly, and wanted to create a video that encompasses the passion and energy we all feel is growing exponentially, in this great city. We felt Don McLean's "American Pie," a song about death, was in the end, triumphant and filled to the brim with life and hope." - Rob Bliss, Director & Executive Producer

On Wednesday at the premiere, Bliss said this project clearly isn't the work of a dying city.

“I think the message is that something like this can happen; that all these streets can be shut down so we can film; that all these organizations and people can come together on this enormous scale.” Bliss said. “Even if it is a pretty glossy version of the city, the fact that it can happen, and that a city would even allow something like this to happen, really speaks about the openness and excitement of the area.

"I wanted to take all that energy that I see in the area… and put that in a 9 minute time capsule of 2011," he said.

Replying to comments on its Facebook page late Thursday night, Newsweek's unnamed spokesperson said he or she understands West Michigan will have more to say for a while longer.

I'll stick around this thread tomorrow to answer any more questions. I'm sure people will keep posting the vid to our wall--and that's cool, we love it--but please tell a friend Newsweek ♥'s Grand Rapids!